Cary-Raleigh Realty Real Estate Newsletter Update June 2009

Cary-Raleigh Realty, Inc. serves buyers, sellers, investors who are interested to buy and sell their Residential and Commerical Real Estate in Cary, Raleigh, Apex, Morrisville, Durham, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Wake Forest and surrounding areas. We specialised in Buyer agent, Listing agent, 1st time home buyer assistanace, Relocation specialist, Foreclosures, Short Sale, 1031 Exchanges, Auction and Property management. Again, I would like to thank all of you including my clients, my friends and my family for the continuous support, encouragement, trust and confidence in me. Special thanks to my friend, Sylvia, who designed the eye-catching logo for Cary-Raleigh Realty.Cary-Raleigh Realty will continue to carry the same motto, being "Your Entrusted Real Estate Advisor!". We will continue to strive for our best to serve you, your friends and your families -- " The highest compliment our clients can give us is the referral of their friends, family, and business associates! Thank you for your trust!! "

In this issue, I would like to share with you some tips on how to get your house ready for the marekt.... it is all about timing, pricing, staging and marketing.

TimingTiming is everything!! You want to list your house during the active buying months for your area. Sometimes you might not be able to time it exactly because of many uncontrollable factors. Then you need to count on the pricing strategy to make it up for the not-too-perfect timing.

PricingRemember that the right selling price is not what you think your house should be sold for, and the right selling price is the market price which is what most buyers would be willing to pay for your house. The right pricing strategy will help make your listing competitive in the market and beat your competition. Initial listing price is not necessarily the same as your selling price. You can also use the right pricing strategy to attract more traffic to showing your house, hence increasing your chance of selling it.

There are many different factors to set the right pricing strategy. Your Realtor is supposed to know the selling trends in your subdivision and can perform a free comparative market analysis to suggest the competitive selling price for your house. You should rely on your Realtor's input for the right pricing strategy.

Staging Staging a house can make a big difference with the potential buyers. Staging is like giving your house a beautiful " make-up" -- making it look attractive and impressive to the potential buyes. The staging will give the potential buyers a totally different perspective of and a positive experience with your house. A house with professional staging sells faster than an empty house with nothing but just walls and flooring.

As part of the staging, I will schedule a walk-through with the sellers, show them which areas needed to be improved and agree to a staging plan if desired. (There are staging professionals who provide the services at a fee. It is money well spent though.) Then we will set up the time for me to come back for the actual staging -- de-cluttering, re-arranging furnitures as needed, adding furniture, pictures, accessories and decorations &..etc. to make the house look homey and appealing. After staging the house, pictures taking is also as important. You want your house shown beautiful in all of the marketing materials and "virtual tour" on the internet.I know a lot of sellers would hire a professional to stage their house. A typical staging could take about 5-8 hours to complete and might cost you a $1000 to $2000 for their service. I do it for my sellers with a nominal fee if they request it. However I would typically not charge my client for staging if I list the house that I helped them buy. It is a token of my appreciation for their trust in me and my services.

MarketingMany sellers think "Open House" is a great idea and can really help sell their house. Based on the statistics from National Association of Realtors and my professional experiences, "Open House" is not an effective and productive marketing tool. I do it only if the sellers ask for one.I also sometimes do advertisement in the local newspapers as needed.

However, the most effective maketing is via the internet...personal web sites, blogs, various real estate portals and MLS (Multiple Listing Services) by the Realtor Association. (Based on national statistics, over 85% of buyers and sellers and agents search houses through the internet.)When the house is ready for marketing after the staging, I will start to advertise in all the internet media even BEFORE I put the house in MLS. I will list the house on my website, blog, Realtors.com, Trulia, Zillow, Facebook and other portals to provide the maximum exposure for the listing. I also email the listing to all of my buyer clients which I am currently working with and pre-show them the listing if they are interested in it.

So, my buyer clients can get to preview the house even before it is marketed on the internet.

Results One of my listings was under a contract in 3 days -- it was achieved just by following the above tips steps by steps; of course there was an element of price as well!! It really surprised everyone in the seller's subdivision including my seller since most of the houses in that subdivision were listed at least 2 to 3 months before any offer.

These tips I am sharing with you are proven and work well if you have the right preparation and right marketing plan and right price!!Anyway, please feel free to call me or email me if you have any question about selling or buying real estate in Triangle area!!

Your Entrusted and Experienced Triangle Real Estate Advisor

Cary-Raleigh Realty, Inc. serves real estate clients who are interested to buy or sell their Residential and Commerical properties. We will develop marketing plans for Sellers and generate the highest traffic and negotiate for the highest return of investment.
We will locate and protect Buyers best interest and to secure the best possible deals for them. Help my buyer to transit smoothly when they new to the area and provide all the necessary information and connection they may need. Fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese)